Electoral registers on display at selected centres

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake yesterday requested the voters to check whether their names have been recommended for registration in the Revision of Electoral Registers-2005 which will be displayed from January 3 to 31 at identified centres.

Arrangements have been made to display these electoral registers at District Secretariats, Divisional Secretariats, District Election Offices, Grama Niladari offices and Post offices. Except District Secretariats and District Election Offices, other offices will only display the electoral registers which come under their respective office regions.

Those whose names have not been included in the 2005 electoral register can assert their right to be included. If anybody wants to register their objection against any name in the register, they can obtain specimen forms at these centres where these electoral registers are display, the Commissioner told a media briefing yesterday.

A request made by a voter through a letter asserting his right will also be accepted considering that he or she is a resident in that particular place. If any objection is made, this should be submitted with two specimen copies. A constitutional test will be conducted on such complaints made.

"If the person submitting that complain is not satisfied with the judgement given by such test he can complain to the District Judge in his area within ten days," he said.

The Commissioner said the Cabinet has granted approval to the proposal submitted to conduct enumeration of voters in the country through a special census in one day, changing the existing system. Details in this regard can be obtain today.

"To make initial arrangements to conduct this census, I will discuss with the Director General of the Department of Census and Statistics on January 6," he said.

Once this enumeration is completed, the International Foundation For Election Systems has pledged to provide computers and all other requirements to computerise 22 electoral districts in the country, the Commissioner said.